Mobile App Revenue of ChatGPT Experiences Sixfold Growth Since 2024
Article: Comparing the Success of ChatGPT and Grok AI Chatbot Apps
In the rapidly evolving world of AI chatbot apps, two names have been making waves – ChatGPT and Grok. Let's delve into how these two apps are performing in terms of earnings, availability, and ranking in the Apple App Store.
Earnings: ChatGPT’s mobile app has generated approximately $2 billion in revenue to date, with $1.35 billion earned just this year (2025) and averaging about $193 million per month. In contrast, Grok’s mobile app revenue is about 53 times lower, making around $25.6 million year-to-date 2025, with a monthly average near $3.6 million[1]. This highlights ChatGPT’s dominant financial position in the AI chatbot app market.
Availability: ChatGPT’s app is available on both iOS and Android platforms, providing broad accessibility[1]. Grok’s AI chatbot, specifically Grok 3, is accessible through the X platform (formerly Twitter) only, integrated deeply into that ecosystem and available as part of "X Premium+" and higher subscription tiers[4]. Grok does not appear to have a standalone Apple App Store presence comparable to ChatGPT.
Ranking in the Apple App Store: While explicit Apple App Store ranking data is not directly provided, ChatGPT leads globally in user traffic and engagement, holding approximately 48% of AI chatbot web traffic and ranking #1 in various AI chatbot market assessments[2][5]. Grok ranks as the fastest-growing rival and secures second place in web traffic (~1.17% market share), but its presence is largely tied to the X platform rather than direct app store downloads[5]. ChatGPT maintains consistent #1 overall market leadership and app usage dominance[2][3].
Launched by xAI, Grok's standalone app was made available for iOS in January and for Android in March, with features like image generation, real-time information, an engaging and humorous conversational tone, and a focus on privacy[6]. ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, was also launched in May 2023[7].
The impressive revenue growth of Grok's AI chatbot app was reported by TechCrunch on August 15, citing data from Appfigures[8]. However, Elon Musk, owner of xAI, is threatening to sue Apple over the ranking of AI firms in the App Store, claiming it is an antitrust violation[9]. This dispute was reported on August 12, adding an interesting twist to the competition between these two AI chatbot apps.
[1] TechCrunch. (2025, August 15). Grok's AI chatbot app revenue surges, challenging ChatGPT's dominance. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/15/grok-ai-chatbot-app-revenue-surges/
[2] StatCounter. (2025). Global AI Chatbot Market Share. Retrieved from https://gs.statcounter.com/ai-chatbot/market-share/worldwide
[3] Sensor Tower. (2025). ChatGPT maintains app usage dominance. Retrieved from https://sensortower.com/news/chatgpt-app-usage-dominance
[4] xAI. (2025). Grok 3 now available on X platform. Retrieved from https://xai.com/blog/grok-3-available-on-x-platform
[5] Apptopia. (2025). AI Chatbot Market Share. Retrieved from https://www.apptopia.com/market-data/ai-chatbot
[6] xAI. (2025). Grok standalone app features. Retrieved from https://xai.com/products/grok/features
[7] OpenAI. (2023, May). ChatGPT app launch. Retrieved from https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt-app-launch
[8] TechCrunch. (2025, August 15). Grok's AI chatbot app revenue surges, challenging ChatGPT's dominance. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/15/grok-ai-chatbot-app-revenue-surges/
[9] CNBC. (2025, August 12). Elon Musk threatens to sue Apple over AI app store rankings. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/12/elon-musk-threatens-to-sue-apple-over-ai-app-store-rankings.html
- Grok's standalone app, equipped with features like image generation and a humorous conversational tone, became available on both iOS and Android platforms, imitating the broad accessibility of ChatGPT.
- In an effort to expand its reach beyond the X platform, Grok's team may consider launching a separate app on the Apple App Store, emulating the successful app store presence of ChatGPT.
- With ChatGPT leading in revenue, user traffic, and app usage, it remains to be seen if promising growth in Grok's revenue will be enough to tilt the competitive landscape in the AI chatbot market, narrowing the significant financial gap between the two rivals.
